Remember Me?
by Mary H. Less
Summary: Sure, Amy remembers the Doctor. However, after a decade's worth of waiting... what will it take for her to forgive him? Slightly AU.
1. Five Minutes

Amy Pond's story started at the crack of dawn.

It was a cloudy and humid Thursday. The rain pelted noisily against her bedroom window; the blue drapes barely drawn over to block out the sporadic flashes of lightning.

The bedspread laid in a jumbled heap across the dark wooden floor. A purple fan whirled lazily from its place on the nightstand.

Beside it stood a clumsy handmade frame, which held a picture of a younger Amy and her friend Rory at the girl's seventh birthday party. Adjacent to the frame was an alarm clock dating from the mid '80s. Its ragged corners were mended with heavy tape from all the falls it had suffered. A large gash covered the top-half of the screen. The number panels suddenly flickered and music started to blare loudly from the crackling speakers. 7:00 AM.

Amy awoke abruptly. Grumbling, she wrenched the pillow off her head and rolled over on her stomach.

Her hand shot out blindly to feel the nightstand. Amy's clumsy fingers knocked over the picture frame. It toppled to the ground in an ear splinting crash. Amy groaned and struggled for another moment until she finally located the alarm clock and jammed her finger down on the snooze button.

The music stopped. She sighs in relief and rolls over to face the wall. Amy fluffs up her pillow and closes her heavy eyelids. A faint smile plays on her lips. Oh how she wishes she to stay curled up in bed all day...

Amy adjusts her position so that her bare legs felt the cool spots on her sheets. She nudged her toes under the remaining duvet hanging off the side of her bed. Perfect.

In spite of the faint light issuing from the window, Amy quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Inside the TARDIS it was pure chaos.<p>

Despite the fact that he had regained control of his beloved ship, the Doctor was still being tossed from side to side like a rag doll, and the outpouring of new information from his regeneration was still distracting him from the task at hand.

However, the promise he had made to little Amelia Pond just minutes ago fuelled his determination to carry on.

The TARDIS suddenly jerked violently and the Doctor flew backwards into the railing. It took the Time Lord a second to regain his thoughts, however, when he does, the Doctor quickly untangled himself and scrambled to his feet.

He ran to the controls when the TARDIS jerked again. He stumbled backwards and grabs onto the railing with both hands. There was this mad look about him.

Was he mad? Of course not, he was _brilliant_! But he wasn't going to let a series of distractions and a few cuts and bruises interfere with his promise.

Just as the jerking subsided to an acceptable level (which would have made anyone else hold on to something for dear life), the Doctor launched for the controls. He held onto a lever to stay in place and feverishly entered a series of numbers into a keyboard.

Holding on the controls for support, he made his way to the other side and slammed his fist down on a large button. The TARDIS suddenly erupted into a chorus of colours and sounds. The Doctor's eyes lit up in childlike wonder and he laughed.

He pumped his fist in the air and rushed down the metal stairs. The TARDIS was still swaying from side to side.

The Doctor spotted his sonic screwdriver skidding across the grid floor from the sudden shift in gravity. He ran towards the sonic screwdriver and made a grab for it.

He swiftly scrambled to his feet and brandished the sonic screwdriver over his head, a large smile plastered on his face.

"Hold on tight Amelia Pond, I'm coming for you!"

* * *

><p>The alarm clock read 8 o'clock.<p>

Snoring loudly, Amy rolled over on her back. Her hand knocked against the nightstand. She moaned and attempted to pull it back. She was on the brink of waking up. But the action ceased as soon as it started and Amy's hand stayed where it was.

Her fingertips grazed the ground between the nightstand and the bed. They touched the glass fragments scattered there.

She frowned in her sleep. Her thoughts were nothing but a jumbled mess, but even in her sleep-like state she knew something was wrong. It was bothering her. While her mind fought to pull itself together, it suddenly came to her.

_School._

Something lurched in the pit of her stomach. Amy's eyes wrenched open in alert and she fought to keep them open as she pulled herself up. Everything was coming back to her now.

Amy clumsily climbed out of bed. Her right foot landed on a shard of glass and it cracked under the pressure. Amy yelped in pain and instinctively grabbed her injured foot.

She bounced up and down for a few seconds before falling back onto her bed. Muttering to herself, she sat in an upright position and pulled her foot up in a strangled hold. She breathed in deeply for a moment, waiting until she calmed down and her heart slowed down to a decent pace.

She reached for a tissue on the nightstand and dabbed at the small cut on her heel. Her heart sunk momentarily when she imaged recovering the broken frame from where it had fell. Amy had wanted to give it to Rory as a gift.

She wiped off the small amount of blood that had gotten on her hand and flitted to the bathroom in order to apply a band-aid and take a quick shower.

She wobbled back to her bedroom ten minutes later. Amy rubbed her eyes tiredly and sighed. Couldn't it have been any other day than today? Amy felt as thought Lady Luck was mocking her. Probably she was.

Without a moment to spare, Amy walked over to her closet and hastily slipped on her uniform. A shrill ring tone started playing somewhere downstairs.

_That must be Rory asking about my whereabouts, _she told herself.

Amy fumed to button her blouse as she clambered down the staircase. She found her mobile on a pile of knitting magazines by the toaster.

"Hello?" she answered breathlessly; holding up the phone in the crook of her shoulder.

"Amy, where _are _you?" Rory's voice was panicked.

"Sorry, sorry! I just woke up!" Amy switched the phone to her other shoulder and hastily poured herself a glass of milk.

Rory sighed, mumbling; "Class is starting in fifteen minutes."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Go go on without me then."

"But you can't miss school, Amy!"

Amy slammed her glass down on the counter. "I _know_ and I'm sorry. Really, I am. But the thing is that it's raining outside and walking there will taker longer than I expected."

"You want me to pick me up, don't you?" Rory muttered.

"Yes."

Rory took a deep breathe. "But... I... I think that could work."

"Great," Amy answered in relief. "How long should I wait for you then?"

"I will be there in about five minutes."

Amy suddenly froze in place. She felt the oddest sensation of déjà vu.

"Do you promise?" her voice whispered in the receiver. "Promise me you will be there in five minutes."

A deep silence followed. "Amy, are you alright?"

She started to mumble something, but then realized how irrational she was being. Of course Rory would be there in time. This _was_ Rory after all.

Amy laughed nervously and brushed a strand of red hair out of her face.

"I'm fine, it's just... I haven't slept well." Again, Rory hesitated on the other end.

"Are you sure?"

Amy shook her head and gulped down the rest of her glass before speaking.

"Oh no," she said. "Really, I'm fine – bad night is all."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. See you in five minutes Amy."

She swallowed hard. "See you in five minutes."

She hung up and placed the phone in her bag. She breathed in deeply, relieved that she had spared herself the humiliation of arriving at school drenched from head to toe. Now all she needed to worry about was waiting.

Amy strolled over to the entrance and faced the mirror hanging there. She pulled her damp, dishevelled red hair into a tall ponytail. Amy stared at her somber expression; chewing her lower lip nervously.

_Stop fretting Amy_, she scowled herself. _You're going to make it worse. Nothing bad is going to happen. _

Content, Amy walked over to the entrance and shrugged on her coat and shoes. Outside, she ducked her head from the rain and shook open her umbrella.

Amy barrelled down the wet cobblestone path. It was still raining heavily. She unlocked the front gate and walked onto the sidewalk. Amy shut the gate behind her and rested her back against the stone wall.

Two minutes passed. Uncomfortable and impatient, Amy started shuffled her feet. She didn't like to be standing there. Her green eyes trailed along the deserted street.

Waiting had always been distressing for her. Every time she had to wait long periods on her own, Amy's heart would start to race, her thoughts swirled dangerously from one horrible theory to another...

Amy composed herself and tried to think about something else. Something blue. Amy squeezed her eyes shut for a second and shook her head. She felt something prickling at the back of her head. The Doctor's far-away voice echoed in her head.

"_Give me five minutes and I'll be right back." _

_No. Don't think about it, it will only hurt more._

Amy fixed her eyes on where Rory's car would eventually pull over.

_Breathe in Amy, breathe. Everything is going to be fine_.

She switched the umbrella to her other hand and wiped her sweaty palm over her coat. She heard an odd rumbling sound... Or was it a siren?

Heart racing, she stretched up on her toes in hopes to see Rory's car coming from a distance. A tall shrub obscured her vision, so she stepped aside and leaned over the sidewalk. Complete stillness.

Frowning, Amy stepped back. She concentrated on the noise she had heard, but soon realized it had stopped. Amy snickered in disbelief. It was raining so heavily that the sound could have been anything! _Silly Amy._

She straightened up and held the umbrella tightly.

There was a loud slamming noise and she reflexively twirled around, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

What she saw there made her mind reel. She yelled and staggered back.

A large blue box had appeared next to the shed! But it wasn't any blue box – it was _the _blue box.

It couldn't be possible – it couldn't be, yet it was still _there_.

Amy's mouth hung open in shock and she stumbled further down the road.

_Oh dear, oh my, oh dear, oh God, I'm mad, most certainly mad, I'm madder than mad – I'm completely mad!_

A man's face suddenly appeared on the other side of the brick wall. His brown hair stuck out at the oddest angles and his eyebrows were set up on the highest point on his forehead.

Amy gasped. The man – though Amy immediately perceived him more as an outgrown child – tilted his head to the side. His gazed at her dubiously.

"I'm sorry, but have you by any chance seen a girl named Amelia Pond?"

* * *

><p><strong>SUPER IMPORTANT AN: **Last year (around May/June) I published the same story under the name _Under the Last Star Fades to __Black_. However, after four chapters I found that it didn't make much sense and I took it down in early December. I found inspiration for the story after watching the Christmas special, so I decided to edit it and upload it once again under a different name (being Remember Me?). I just wanted to make things clear in case someone happened to have read the same thing last year.


	2. Scattered Rain

Amy suddenly felt as though the earth was splitting at her feet; threatening to take her whole. Her green eyes widen in disbelief and her ashen fingers tightened their strained hold on the umbrella.

_It's him. It's really him. He came back. The Doctor came back._

Amy moistened her dry lips. The knot in her throat made it difficult to speak.

"Am – Amelia Pond?" she stuttered.

His face lightened up in anticipation. "Yeah, Amelia Pond – little Scottish girl, have you seen her?"

_Have I seen her? Have I seen her? Idiot! Open your eyes; you're looking at her! Actually – since you're YEARS late, I don't blame you._

Just as she opened her mouth to speak – something occurred to her. A fire sparked to life inside her mind.

Images of her ill-fated childhood flitted inside her head.

She had spent endless afternoons cooped up inside a psychiatric office's – four different actually – desperately trying to convince them that she had really met a man who travelled in a blue police box. They were whispers among Amelia Pond's neighbours concerning her supposed 'unstable' mental health. She wasn't mad, she heard them. And it hurt. Was this man – the Doctor; the soul reason why her childhood had been filled with unfulfilled hopes and dreams?

_Was he?_

"Well?" the Doctor prompted eagerly.

Clenching her jaw tightly, Amy squared her shoulders.

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a very long time," she said stiffly.

The man's face darkened drastically at her words; yet hers remained impassive. The Doctor marched towards the gate wordlessly and wrenched it open.

Amy remained frozen in place, unsure if she should turn around and run or face the anguished looking man. She chose the latter and took a few steps back.

Fists clenched, he walked up to her level. The Doctor's dark brown hair was flat against his face; the sopping dress shirt he was wearing sticking to his skin.

His questioning eyes burned into hers and she adjusted her posture so that she matched his. Amy lifted her chin, her heart thumping loudly at their close proximity. She shivered.

"What do you mean – what happened to her?" the Doctor questioned, his eyes searching her face.

Amy avoided his inquisitive gaze. Her eyes flashed over her shoulder. The water-drenched road was still deserted. Rory was nowhere in sight.

Amy gulped and tried to keep her cool. It was a difficult task considering the tight situation she was in. Her eyes flickered back to him.

_Amelia would never lie_, she thought.

Something pinched at her heart. It didn't stop her.

"Her – her aunt re-married," she said.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I'm asking about Amelia, not her aunt."

Amy was stumped, completely silenced.

_Say something! Anything!_

"It has everything to do with Amelia!" she exclaimed hastily. "I mean – it's her aunt after all."

He crossed his arms. "Please enlighten me."

Amy's hands became clammy. Her trembling fingers flexed on the metal handle; her heart beating out a samba – or maybe it was tap-dancing.

Her eyes darted around nervously as her mind searched despairingly for an answer. "Err…"

_Get a grip Amy, get a grip! Say the first thing that comes to mind! Go on, quickly!_

"Well… well she met a man at the pub… a sailor actually!" Amy exclaimed.

She was gesticulating wildly with her umbrella.

The Doctor blinked; barely avoiding having an eye perforated by an umbrella pick. He was clearly unconvinced, though Amy was too wounded up in her story to notice.

"A sailor?" he replied slowly, eyeing the umbrella in a nervous manner.

"Yes," she jabbered on. "They wedded at the pub actually – lovely ceremony." She stopped to catch her breath. "After that she decided to join him in Edinburgh."

"And when did this occur?"

"It happened six months ago," Amy replied hastily.

The Doctor appeared baffled. His eyes wandered away from the young woman's ashen face and he passed a hand through his dark wet hair.

"No... No! That's impossible," he exclaimed. "That's absolutely impossible!"

Amy bowed her head. She felt extremely bad for lying. She remembered the Doctor being a good-natured man with a witty sense of humour. Who was she compared to him? Clearing her throat, Amy brushed her clammy hand over her coat. Her own gaze wandered away and she looked over her shoulder. No Rory in sight.

"And you – who are you? What are you doing standing in front of Amelia's house?" he said.

Amy's mind reeled.

_That man is impossible_, she thought.

"I… I –" she started to stutter.

Amy's ears suddenly perked up at the sound of an engine. Breathless, she whirled around. A small red car was slowly crawling its way down the road; the wipers blades sweeping wildly across the windshield. Amy didn't need to see the driver to know that it was Rory. She sighed in relief. Amy turned towards the Doctor; whose face was contorted in misunderstanding. Hesitant, she made a few slow steps away from him.

"I – I need to go, that's my ride." she said.

He didn't react; though his eyes never left her face.

Amy nodded slowly in a sign of goodbye; her throat tightening uneasily. Whatever she wanted to say to him, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

_Goodbye Doctor._

Walking away rapidly, Amy adjusted the handbag on her shoulder. She bent her head to the side in a futile attempt to avoid the torrent of rain that had shifted sideways; rendering the umbrella useless.

Thunder roared up ahead. She didn't try to avoid the puddles obscuring her path and soon she felt the water transpiring in her heels.

"Hey – wait up!" the Doctor called. "You haven't told me your name!"

Amy stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly short of breath. Mixed emotions were swirling inside her mind.

Rory pulled up beside her and she extended her hand towards the door handle. Amy hesitated for a second before turning her head around and facing the anguished face Doctor. She inhaled deeply.

"It's Amy," she yelled, her voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.

She didn't wait for his reaction and quickly sat down in the car.

* * *

><p>Crazy how a thousand words looks short on fanfiction, right? Anywho, I hoped you liked chapter 2! I'm coming round to editing the next two chapters, but until then feedback is <em>greatly<em> appreciated!


	3. The Maddening Factor

The Doctor felt his hearts crumble to the pit of his stomach. He watched helplessly as the young woman slammed the car door behind her.

He had done it again.

Time had slipped unknowingly through his fingers like sand from a broken hourglass.

The Doctor's eyes trailed on the car as it sped pass him. He caught a glimpse of the broken expression on the young woman's face through the heavily streaked window.

_If I had a star for every person I've disappointed or left behind,_ the Doctor thought grimly. _I'd have the brightest galaxy in the universe._

He stayed rooted in place until the car reached the corner of the street and disappeared.

"_And when did this occur?"_

"_It happened six months ago," she answered._

The Doctor's shoulders slumped forward and he slid his hands into his pockets. He shuffled his feet and kicked the nearest pebble out of the way. His gaze dropped back where the young woman had stood before him. The ground there was worn and cracked.

_Amy. She said her name was Amy._

Something about the young woman bothered him. Maybe it was the way she had tried to avoid him, or perhaps the doubtful answers she had given. He started to pace around, drawling out her name in a desperate attempt to make sense of it.

"Aaamy… Amy… Aa – mmmmy… "

The Doctor stopped and exhaled deeply. He ruffled his damp hair in irritation and passed a hand over his face. He glanced towards the TARDIS.

_Maybe the TARDIS could help_, he thought. _Or maybe I could leave and forget this has ever happened._

Discouraged, he started to walk towards the gate. His eyes traced the dizzying pattern of cracks splitting across the dampened brick. _Cracks... _He froze on the spot, Amelia's soft voice echoing in the back of his head.

"_There's a crack in my wall… and I can hear voices at night. They're speaking to me, whispering things…"_

He hurried to the wall and ran a hand across the fractures. He felt a light draft on his palm. The Doctor brought his head against the cold surface; trying to decipher any type of noise issuing from the cracks.

The pounding of the rain made it difficult for him to concentrate. He shut his eyes and tried to block out the noise. The voice seemed far away; robotic even. But he heard it nevertheless.

"Pri…ner ha… cape…"

The Doctor adjusted his position.

"Prisoner… has escaped…"

_Prisoner has escaped,_he thought. _Prisoner… prisoner… Prisoner zero has escaped, of course!_

He jumped to his feet. Something else occurred to him.

His gaze shifted over to the spot where the young woman had once stood. The ground there was worn and cracked.

Hearts threatening to burst out of his chest, the Doctor stumbled back to the road and dove on his stomach. Ignoring the obvious fact that he was now soaked from head to toe; the Doctor dug in his pockets for his sonic screwdriver. When he found it, he scanned the length of the crack.

The results were the same as those he had found in Amelia's bedroom. He pressed his ear against the wet surface. Unsurprisingly, there it was.

_Prisoner zero has escaped._

The Doctor slowly lifted his head from the ground; a strange expression on his face.

"How is this even possible," he murmured. "That crack can't go beyond that bedroom… unless… unless –"

He scrambled to his feet; his eyes trailing to the place where the young woman had climbed into the vehicle. The crack stopped there.

His heart clenched uneasily as he completed his unfinished sentence.

"—unless _someone_ has been lying to me."

* * *

><p>Amy was fidgeting in her seat; her cold fingers toying with the closed umbrella sitting on her lap. Her alert gaze flickered between the side mirror; where she imaged the Doctor's tall frame emerging from her street and pursuing the car on foot, and the crosswalk before them; where an elderly woman on crutches (clad in a bright nylon raincoat) and her personal nurse were walking.<p>

_What is the Doctor going to do, _she found herself wondering. _Surely he can't stick around my garden all day, right? Right?_

"Can you contour them or something?" Amy blurted out.

Rory frowned, troubled by her comment. "Not really, no."

When they finally _did _reach the other side of the crosswalk, Rory stepped on the accelerator and glanced at his friend's strained expression. "Amy, are you feeling well?" he asked out of concern.

_No, _she thought_. I've had a terrible morning; I slept in, stepped on a particularly pointy shard of glass, I'm probably going to get detention yet again, something tells me I'm going to catch a cold and my imaginary childhood friend has just appeared in my garden ten years late._

_No, everything is not alright._

"I'm… fine, just a bad _really _bad morning is all…"

Amy leaned in between them and started to play with the radio dial. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, and didn't stop at the sound of voices and music coming in intervals from the static. She simply wanted to distract herself; by whatever means possible. It proved to be impossible.

"Did you sleep badly?" Rory asked; trying to engage in conversation… and distract himself from the fact that Amy was leaning half-way across him. Simply put, he felt uncomfortable.

"Oh… at a quarter pass ten, I think," she answered, obvious to his discomfort. "Though it doesn't make a difference, with the rainstorm and all…"

"—_ Prisoner zero has escaped—"_

Amy jumped in her seat, her fingers crisped on the dial as though an electrical current had passed through them – and petrified her whole body. Her mouth opened in shock and she looked at Rory; whose face remained strangely impassive.

"_Prisoner zero will be found and the human residence will be incine—"_

"Oh _no_," she whispered.

"What?" Rory voiced in alarm.

Amy swiftly turned the radio off and slumped back in her seat. "I don't want to listen to the radio."

_Oh dear god, what is happening, _she thought, resting her head between her trembling hands. _First the Doctor and now I'm hearing my nightmares on the radio? Something really strange is happening. It's either that or I've gone mad. _

"Is something bothering you, Amy?" Rory asked. "You're… strange."

_Do you know how it feels to meet a man who hasn't aged in ten years_, Amy thought glumly.

"You have _no _idea," she mumbled in her hands.

Rory didn't hear her correctly and asked that she repeated herself. Amy sat up and wiped her clammy hands on the seat. She was trembling, and Rory noticed.

"It doesn't matter, Rory. Forget about it."

_Breathe deeply Amy_, she thought. _Act normal…_

But she couldn't. Even if she forced herself to, Amy couldn't act as though everything was normal. Or breathe normally. Not when a man who presumably owned a time traveling police box was waiting in her garden.

Amy also felt _odd, _like an ominous black cloud was permanently fixed above her head. Why was that? _Why?_

Rory said no more after this, and before Amy knew it, they had arrived at their school. Seeing that they were officially late, the parking lot was void of any human activity. This comforted Amy. She didn't think she could deal with society at the moment.

Rory turned inside the lot and parked in the first available spot. He cut the engine without a word and Amy stuffed her umbrella inside her bag. She reached out to open the door; but Rory grabbed her elbow. She spun around at his touch. His face was grave and full of concern. It was quite unlike Rory to stand up to Amy when she was moody. She gulped.

"I – I want to tell you something," he started.

Amy twisted in his grasp; glancing back towards the dark building. "Rory –"

"It's about the man you were talking to earlier."

Amy's body braced itself in response, giving Rory the opportunity to continue, though he appeared frozen himself. "You know that you can tell me anything, Amy."

Amy started out the window, her face expressionless.

"If there is something you want to tell me…"

Amy slowly turned to face him. They contemplated each other in silence.

Outside the rainstorm carried on.

Whatever Amy had wanted to say she forgot, and after what felt like an eternity, she gently pried her arm from Rory's grasp.

"We should go," Amy whispered.

She watched Rory as he mulled something over in his head. Her heart was pounding in her chest in response to his stillness.

Finally, Rory nodded reluctantly. His gaze wandered away and Amy felt her tight limps uncoil from the tension Rory's words had put her into.

They stepped out of the car and ran for the door. Rory made it there a split second before Amy, and he held the door open for her. She murmured a faint thank you and walked pass him.

Oddly enough, Amy felt as though the gesture wasn't simply a polite one, like Rory had intended to do it deliberately in order to convey a silent message. And as she waited for him to walk in step with her, Amy knew exactly what that message was.

Rory definitely knew more than he let on.

* * *

><p>Without another moment to spare, the Doctor launched himself towards the house. He left the gate open behind him and sprinted up the cobblestone path.<p>

The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the lock. It wouldn't work. He shook it urgently.

"Come on… come on…" he muttered under his breath.

He fumed with it for another moment until it finally flickered to life. The Doctor heard the lock click and he quickly stampeded into the house; sonic screwdriver at ready. His mind reeled at the sight before him.

There were cracks everywhere.

He stumbled into the entrance, his eyes sweeping over every surface.

It was possibly the most overwhelming thing he had ever seen throughout his eleven regenerations. If he didn't know better, the Doctor would have thought the house might collapse at any moment.

Perhaps it was the real reason why Amelia's family had left. Maybe the young woman had lied about the cause of their departure simply because she was too afraid to tell the truth. He thought back to the young woman's behaviour when they had talked. She had shown clear sighs of anxiety. Maybe she was really afraid.

_But why move in then?_

He recalled the moment where her green eyes flickered away from him when he had asked what happened to Amelia.

"_Her – her aunt re-married," she had said._

Unconvinced, the Doctor was unconvinced.

_Why would she lie?_

He reached the staircase and touched the railing.

"Prisoner zero," he yelled. "If you can hear me – and I hope you do – please take notice that this house is now under strict supervision. If you surrender now – no harm will come to you. I ask you to leave the resident of this household at peace. "

The Doctor's plea was met with a faint buzzing noise. It was the sound produced from all the cracks pulled together. His eyebrows rose high on his forehead and he cautiously put a foot on the first step. He could feel an unnatural presence in the house.

The Doctor climbed the staircase slowly; his eyes shifting everywhere at once.

"Prisoner zero," he cautioned loudly. "I am coming up now."

He reached the first floor landing and raised his sonic screwdriver. The Doctor swept it over the scarred surface and side-stepped towards Amelia's room. The floor creaked loudly.

The Doctor quickly flattened himself against the wall beside the bedroom door. He pushed the door ajar and peeked inside the room.

If it was even possible, his eyebrows rose higher. He stepped inside the room vigilantly; putting the light on as he went. The room looked almost the same as it did when he had last seen Amelia; although it was evidently less childish. Among the new cracks, the original one had reappeared on her wall.

He went to stand in the middle of the room and scrutinized everything around him. He caught sight of the drawing-covered wall next to the window.

Curious, he crooked his head to the side and approached the small desk.

His eyes filled with wonder and a tight knot formed in the back of his throat. He picked up a drawing at random.

It was a depiction of him – _the Doctor_. A large smile was drawn on his face and he held the hand of a small red-headed girl. They were standing next to the TARDIS.

"_Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a very long time," she had told him._

Speechless, he placed the drawing gently back on the desk. His eyes spotted crudely made dolls; also depicting him and Amelia. He traced Amelia's painted face with the tip of his finger.

There was a loud thumping sound behind him. His hand retreated and he spun around, instinctively holding up his sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor's ears peaked for other sounds as he hastily flitted to the wall next to the door. Again, he was met with a buzzing noise.

The Doctor drew the sonic screwdriver before him and cautiously stepped out of the room. The invisible presence was tugging at every inch of his body.

He abruptly recalled standing at the very same place with Amelia just before rushing off to the TARDIS.

"…_Corner of my eye…"_

"Are you seeing things Doctor?" a small voice asked.

His heart lurched and he twirled around, his eyes wide. The Doctor's mind reeled. A little girl was sitting on the unkempt bed. But it wasn't any girl – it was Amelia.

"_Amelia,"_ he whispered, completely stumped. "Amelia, what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for you Doctor," she said. "I'm waiting for you to come back."

The Doctor scoffed. "But you're gone! You left! That woman – Amy, she told me you've moved six months ago!"

A thousand thoughts spiraled inside his head.

Why hadn't he seen her in the room before? Had the young woman lied to him the whole time? Why was Amelia here? Where was prisoner zero?

"I've never left," she replied, swigging her legs. "I've always been here."

The Doctor realized her voice sounded… strange. It didn't hold any of the child-like characteristics Amelia had. In fact – it sounded mature… more… alien, if he could permit himself to think so.

His eyes squinted doubtfully. "Who are you?"

"I'm Amelia," she sneered in a deep Scottish accent. "Amelia Pond."

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together. The Doctor knew where he had heard that voice before. The image of a red-haired young woman standing under an umbrella flitted inside his head.

"_Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a very long time…"_

The Doctor's expression darkened and he gritted his teeth. He raised his sonic screwdriver.

"You're not Amelia – you're prisoner zero."

The girl snarled loudly and slid off the bed. Her tiny fists were shaking in anger.

The Doctor retreated prudently into the doorway. It was one thing to face an angry little girl – but a murderous creature from outer-space was another.

The girl opened her mouth; revealing two rows of sharp teeth. The Doctor gulped and backed away even further. He outstretched his free hand in a sigh of negotiation.

"Listen," he said. "I mean you no harm; however, in return I need you to turn yourself in –"

The creature snarled and the Doctor quickened his tone. "No – you don't understand – just listen to me –"

The creature snarled even louder and vacillated towards him. Amidst his one-man negotiation, the Doctor had reached the staircase. He didn't dare glance back – presuming the creature would pounce on him if he did so.

"–Listen, I mean no harm. I just want the resident to be left at peace –"

The creature suddenly lunged for him and the Doctor made a dive for the staircase.

He bolted down the steps two at a time and ran out the front door. He immediately shut it behind him; struggling to keep the beast within from bursting through. He locked it with the sonic screwdriver and relaxed against the door.

He knew it wouldn't last for long.

The Doctor composed himself and ran pass the TARDIS. He needed to find Amy – or Amelia. Either way, she was in deep trouble.

He staggered into the road; his eyes trailing to the right, where the car had turned.

If his hunches were correct, the crack extending down the road indicated the exact spot where she had been sitting in the vehicle. And it would lead him to her.

Breathless, he started running.

* * *

><p>Thanks to Allyieh for pointing out the age thing (I didn't think it thoroughly). Amy and Rory are in their last year of high school.<p>

You guys have no idea how happy I am to have written this chapter! But the next one is even more amazing, because the Doctor and Amy will finally interact! In the meantime, go see the Series 7 trailer on Youtube if you haven't seen it yet!


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